I bought a bread maker on that site several years ago. They are a pretty good site.
Auction Tips: Not related to any one auction site.
For Buyers:
As a 7 year seasoned auction buyer and seller, watch for auction that end in the middle of the night or early in the morning. I've won items that would normally go much higher just because the seller put it up between 2-6AM.
Watch TIMEZONES! 11PM eastern for you could mean that you have 8PM west coast buyers competing for the same item. The later the better.
I also wait until the last 15 seconds of an auction to bid(sniping the bid). There are services that will do this for you, but I think the thrill is just to see how close I can come before time runs out. I've won and lost auctions between (0-3) seconds. I'm sure I have been called a few names when beating another bidder just by 1 or 2 seconds by 1 penny more.
Some auction services extend the auction time if bids are made in the final seconds. Some do not.
I open 2 screens with the same auction and use one to keep track of time while the other has my highest bid just waiting to be confirmed. Dial-up users may have to adjust their timing a bit.
Also mis-spell what you are looking for. There is a chance that you can find an item that no-one else woud because of mis-spelling.
Search all auctions rather than a particular category. I've seen sellers put items in totally unrelated categories as to what they are selling. I once saw a guy put a pick-up truck in Real-Estate rather than auto.
If you have lots of time, then browse a category and look at every listing. Again, because of mis-spelling, you can pick up on an item that someone doing specific searching will miss.
Look for newly listed items that may have a low (or wrong) *Buy Now* price. If you are the first to see and buy it, you can sometimes get a super deal.
Lastly, watch out for S&H charges. Some sellers will put shipping charges 3 or 4 times the real shipping charges. This is how some sellers make their money. They will put a price lower than everyone else, but make up for it with high shipping charges. I've seen it many, many times. Beware!
Some auction sites have Feedback ratings. Pay attention to a sellers feedback, it will give you a quick overview of how reputable the seller is.
For Sellers:
Best time to sell is Friday/Saturday between 7-11 PM Eastern. Then the next best times are same times for the other 5 days.
Watch TIMEZONES! Target East or West coast buyers by the time your auction ends.
(After work, after supper and kids are watching primetime TV or going to bed)
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas there are many MORE auctions than at any other time during the year. The next would be Mothers Day/Valentines Day.
Put brand & model of item. If you have room, mis-spell it too, just in case someone does the same. It usually is bad practice to put a brand name similar to the item you are selling in the description.
Example: If you are selling a home built computer, I've seen people put... 'AMD ATHLON 2400 NOT PENTIUM INTEL DELL' That is considered Keyword spamming and not good selling practice.
This of course is just a 'cliff's notes' version of buying and selling and is subject to opinion, but in my experience, this has *usually* been the case.
Happy Bidding/Selling!
